There’s a new option on the horizon for college graduates from a wide variety of backgrounds who want to sharpen their business acumen while earning a master’s degree.

Arkansas Tech University will offer course work toward a Master of Science in Business Administration degree for the first time during the fall 2013 semester.

The 30-hour program, which is the first master’s degree offering from the Arkansas Tech College of Business, is available for graduates who earned their baccalaureate degree in a discipline other than business.

The Arkansas Tech Master of Science in Business Administration degree includes opportunities for students to take courses through online learning. The curriculum and course schedule are planned such that a student can go from beginning the program to earning a master’s degree in just 12 months.

“Students in the Master of Science in Business Administration degree program will experience a graduate level of academic rigor that will allow them to cover in 21 hours what we normally cover in about 45 hours at the undergraduate level,” said Dr. Ed Bashaw, dean of the Arkansas Tech College of Business and professor of marketing. “There are also three elective courses in the master’s program that provide a level of specialization for each student to complement his or her career goals.”

The Arkansas Tech College of Business has established learning objectives that graduates of the Master of Science in Business Administration program will be able to apply in their careers.

“We want them to be able to use technology to make decisions,” said Bashaw. “We want them to communicate well, and we want them to have an ethically balanced perspective on the world.”

Dr. Stephen Jones, associate dean of business and associate professor of management at Arkansas Tech, will serve as faculty advisor for students enrolled in the Master of Science in Business Administration program.

“From their knowledge base, a graduate of this program would be able to understand how to do budgets and how to hire, train and motivate employees,” said Jones. “There are constraints that each member of the workforce operates under. Our interest is providing a knowledge base that will allow graduates the opportunity to move up into a management role.”

In addition to providing career advancement opportunities for graduates of the master’s program, the new offering is sure to bring a new dynamic to the Arkansas Tech College of Business by bringing people of varied academic backgrounds together.

“If you look at our 4000 and 5000 level courses, you are going to have students with different perspectives,” said Bashaw. “I assume that we’ll have some philosophy majors in there with senior business students. That will add richness to discussions in those classes

To learn how to apply for admission to the Arkansas Tech Graduate College, visit www.atu.edu/gradcollege, call (479) 968-0398 or send e-mail to gradcollege@atu.edu. For more information about the Arkansas Tech College of Business and the Master of Science in Business Administration degree, visit www.atu.edu/business or call (479) 968-0490.